So much for the two million Cybertruck reservations, eh Elon?

Tesla (TSLA) has announced another recall for its Cybertruck, marking its fourth since the vehicle’s release late last year. The real headline from this announcement, however, lies in the recall notice’s disclosure of how many Cybertrucks are currently on the road.

In a letter from the NHTSA dated Monday, June 24, Tesla confirmed it will recall the Cybertruck due to a defective front wiper. The vehicle’s single large front wiper, the largest ever used on a passenger vehicle, can fail because of “excessive electrical current.” Additionally, a separate recall was issued for the trim panel in the truck’s bed.

Tesla also disclosed that 11,688 trucks are affected by the recall, which reflects the number of Cybertrucks sold as it includes vehicles in use and in transit to customers. This is significant because Tesla does not provide specific Cybertruck sales figures in its quarterly delivery reports, making this disclosure noteworthy for tracking early sales.

Analyzing the numbers further reveals estimated monthly delivery figures. Tesla began low-volume production of the Cybertruck at Giga Austin in late November of last year, and a previous recall notice indicated that 1,163 vehicles were delivered in December. This means Tesla produced approximately 10,525 vehicles in 2024, averaging a monthly delivery rate of 1,700+ Cybertrucks.

That’s a far cry from all of that reservation talk…

The current sales figure would have Tesla Cybertyruck ranking outside the Top 15 best selling trucks of 2023.

Meanwhile, Ford CEO Jim Farley dismissed Tesla Cybertruck as “a cool high-end product parked in front of a hotel” rather than “a truck for real people.” Of course he was roundly mocked in social circles:

Will he eat his words?

During an interview with CNBC, Farley appeared to want to distance Ford from Tesla a bit after his company agreed to adopt Tesla’s NACS connector.

He described the move as an “opportunistic” one to increase access to charging for Ford customers, but he claimed that Ford’s charging network was already extensive before that.

The CEO was asked about the imminent launch of the Tesla Cybertruck and he seemed unimpressed.

Farley said about the Cybertruck:
“The reality is, America loves an underdog — and we are the market leader for EV trucks and vans, and we know those customers better than anyone. And if [Elon Musk] wants to design a Cybertruck for Silicon Valley people, fine. It’s like a cool high-end product parked in front of a hotel. But I don’t make trucks like that. I make trucks for real people who do real work, and that’s a different kind of truck.”

Those are harsh words for Tesla’s first offering in the important and highly profitable pickup market in the US.

Meanwhile the Ford F series has sold over 40 million units:

Since 1977, the F-Series has remained the best-selling pickup truck line in the United States; it has been the best-selling vehicle overall since 1981. The F-Series has been the best-selling truck in Canada for over fifty years. As of the 2018 model year, the F-Series generated $41 billion (~$49 billion in 2023) in annual revenue for Ford.

Looks like Cybertruck will not be taking the crown anytime soon.